I'm Your Baby's Daddy: House
by mmooch
Summary: **Part of 'Who's Your Baby's Daddy' series.** House learns the results of the paternity test and talks to Wilson about what it means. Then he talks to Buffy. WARNING: Character Death.
1. Chapter 1: Making the Announcement

**I'm Your Baby's Daddy: House**

Summary: House learns the results of the paternity test and talks to Wilson about what it means. Then he talks to Buffy. Part of 'Who's Your Baby's Daddy?' series.

A/N: In response to Challenge 3064: conception by conspiracy *non-stargate* by shelli.

A/N2: Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

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_Previously…_

"Hey, it's Buffy! Just thought I'd let you know that I'm having amniocentesis done. The doctor told me that it can be used to determine paternity. Umm, just wondering if you wanted to have the results sent to you so you can match them against yourself or not."

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**Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, New Jersey**

**One week later…**

Wilson walked into House's office, knowing that today was _the_ day. He saw the envelope in his friend's hands and couldn't help but ask, "Well, House, did you check the results yet?"

House's reply was absent, "Umm, yeah."

"And…?" Wilson prodded, not sure if the man's look was good news or bad. Personally, he was hoping for House's sake that he was the baby's father. The man needed something in his life that was good.

House continued to sit there, looking stunned. "I'm going to be a dad," he announced quietly.

Wilson smiled. "How do you feel about that?"

For the first time, House looked up from the envelope. "Excited, nervous, terrified. What if Buffy changed her mind about letting me be part of their lives?" he questioned, uncharacteristically insecure.

Which surprised Wilson in its intensity. He knew that his friend had concerns, but he didn't think it was _this_ bad. "I doubt it. She told you her conditions, and you're getting there. You've been doing your therapy and cutting down your reliance on the pain meds," he encouraged House before smirking, "Which has the hospital freaked out, by the way. Since I'm the only one who knows why, everyone thinks the end of world is coming. It's the only explanation they have for your behavior."

Then Wilson sat down in a chair. "So, what happens now?"

"Now I call Buffy and see what she does with the information." House's head dropped in dejection. "I can't believe she lives in California! Why not another country? It's cruel to have a chance at being a dad, only to have them live thousands of miles away," he complained.

"Would you move there?" Wilson inquired, wondering if he would lose his friend, but knowing that his child was more important than anything else to House. Once House had admitted that to him, they'd had many talks about what it would mean to him – and them. It was the only topic that House never snarked about. It was his Achilles' heel.

House leaned back in his chair, contemplating the idea. "You think I should?"

Wilson shrugged, "That depends, how involved do you want to be in your kid's life?"

"As much as she lets me," House answered without hesitation. He wanted this child more than anything else in the world – even more than his job or the drugs.

"Then you might want to consider it. _Or_, convince her to move here," Wilson added, unsure of how likely that would be. They didn't really know what her life was like and if she would want to pick up and move cross-country.

House shook his head, "I don't know about that. Her life has already been turned upside-down enough by this." It was too much to ask of her.

Wilson agreed, but pointed out anyway, "But maybe she wants to get away from the place where it happened."

Remembering the small blonde, House shook his head again, "I think she's tougher than that." She was stronger than anyone he knew; he could tell.

"Call her. See how she reacts to the news, and take it from there," Wilson suggested helpfully.

"Yeah.…Hey! Are you okay with how this turned out?" House asked belatedly. They had only ever talked about his reaction to the possibility, not Wilson's.

"Sure." He smiled as he added, "Not that I would mind having a kid with Buffy, but it means more to you. Let me know how it turns out." Then he got up and made his way out of the office, knowing that House needed privacy for this conversation.

"Uh-huh," House murmured, waving to his friend. Then he stared at the phone like it would strike him if he dared to reach for it. Would Buffy be disappointed that he was the father? He had no illusions that Wilson was _prettier_ than he was. Chances were that other guys on the list had more to offer her and the baby than he did.

Sure, he was cleaning up his problem, but did the others even _have_ problems to clean up?

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**House's home, that evening**

House finally drummed up the courage to call her when he got home. Okay, it took several aborted efforts to dial and wait until she answered, but he did. "Hello, Buffy?" he said as the phone connected.

Even though she knew who it was and why he was calling, Buffy played it cool. "Yes?"

"This is Gregory House," he introduced himself, trying to keep a grip on his nerves.

Buffy let the smile be heard in her voice. No need to make him feel uncomfortable. "Oh hey! How ya doin'?"

He let out the breath he was holding before answering, "Fine. And you?"

"Peachy with a side of keen! Morning sickness seems to be over with so I'm happy," she explained. "What's the what?"

"Huh?" was his only response.

Knowing that she confused him, Buffy laughed and then clarified, "Why are you calling me?"

Still thrown, House shook himself to tell her, "Oh! I just got the results of the paternity test and thought I should tell you."

"Good news or bad?" she asked, letting him be in control here.

"My opinion…good. Yours, I'm not sure," his voice gave away his anxiety.

Buffy let it go for a few seconds, then prompted when he remained quiet, "Well…can you _tell_ me?"

"Oh, right! I'm the dad," he declared cautiously. Alright, the ball was in her court now.

"Okay," was her less than helpful reply.

House felt like hitting something. "Good news or bad?" he threw her own words back at her.

"Are you getting off the drugs?" Buffy wasn't willing to say until she knew the answer to this. She didn't want her kid around a druggie – even if he was a functioning doctor.

"Slowly, but surely. The therapy is helping the pain level. I've switched to a milder medication and take it much less," House told her honestly. He was even willing to let her talk to the therapists and Wilson if she wanted. Whatever it took to allay her concerns.

Buffy smiled and announced, "Then it's of the good."

House let out a sigh of relief again before asking the dreaded question about the future, "Umm, what do we do now?"

Weighing her options, Buffy decided on honesty – or at least the version she could share with him right now. Eventually, she'd have to tell him _everything_ and hope he didn't freak out. "Well, would it bother you out too much if I moved there? I mean, it doesn't have to be _right_ where you live, but I was thinking the East Coast would be good. Some of the guys that I met were pretty cool, and not that there aren't cool guys here or anything, but-- Okay, shutting up now. I'm starting to sound too much like Willow."

Laughing for the first time during their talk, House guessed, "She babbles a lot?"

"She'd win an Olympic medal for it," Buffy confided, glad he wasn't teasing her too much about this.

"You really would be willing to move?" House asked, hoping the answer was yes.

Even though he couldn't see it, Buffy nodded, "Yeah. I'll miss my friends, but this place just has too many bad memories for me. This is just the final straw. Seriously though, if it makes you feel uncomfortable, I can live in New York or Washington, DC or a couple other places," she quickly added.

House wasn't about to tell her that he'd be happy if she lived _with_ him. He'd get a house that they could share if she wanted. "What about your college?" he inquired instead.

"I should be able to find a place to transfer to. My grades weren't _that_ bad last year, and hopefully my SATs will make any college overlook my high school grades. Northwestern was willing to," she told him casually.

That bit of news impressed him. "_Chicago's_ Northwestern? What were your SATs?" he asked.

Buffy bit her lip, not wanting to sound boastful, "Uh, 1430."

House decided to push his luck a little and questioned, "What was your GPA last year?"

"A little over 3.0 combined," she replied easily. Even Walsh's class turned out okay. Her replacement had nothing to do with the Initiative, and so didn't hold the Professor's death against her.

"Then you shouldn't have a problem – even at one of the more prestigious colleges here," House pointed out.

"Does that mean you wouldn't mind me coming there?" Buffy checked. She wouldn't mind living anywhere on the East Coast, but it would certainly make things easier if she lived in the same area as her baby's dad.

"I was actually hoping you would. That, or you wouldn't mind if I moved there," he added.

Buffy was horrified at the idea and blurted out before she could help herself, "No, no. No coming here! Here is a bad place to come!"

House was shocked by her yell. "Wow, you really _do_ have bad memories!"

"You'd better believe it." Buffy hesitated, then dropped another one of her bombshells, "One other thing you should know: I wouldn't be coming alone. My mom and Giles would be joining me."

"Are they involved?" House wondered. He couldn't really pinpoint her relationship with the guy that traveled with her, and to be honest, it sort of bugged him.

Her face screwing up in disgust – remembering the band candy incident – Buffy let her opinion be known, "Eww! A world of no! But they are the two most important people in my life. They would never let me go off alone," she told him, not caring that it might seem weird.

Which it did to House. "They forget that you're an adult?" he questioned, wondering if they were all co-dependent or something..

It didn't really bother her that he said that; he didn't know the whole story. "They know that. They also know that being an unwed mother is a difficult position to be in, so they'll be my support system. It isn't as if they have any better memories here. In spite of the circumstances, this is the best thing for all of us."

House suddenly realized that he was passing judgment on something he only had the smallest amount of information about. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you," he said sincerely.

Buffy kept explaining, "Mom doesn't want to miss out on her grandchild, and Giles is my best friend."

Again, her relationship with the man reared its ugly head, and House couldn't stop the question from coming out, "_Just_ a friend?"

Surprisingly, Buffy's reply wasn't as vehement as her denial about him and her mother, "We aren't romantically involved, if that's what you mean. But we're closer than regular friends. We've been through a lot together – this pregnancy just being the latest."

House's shoulders slumped. It seemed as if he had to fight for Buffy's – and by extension the baby's – affection? Not the right word, but now he was even less sure of his place in their lives. "Sounds like a good friend to have – especially if he's willing to move across the country for you," he told her.

Buffy missed the wistful note in House's voice. Instead, she confided, "Between you and me, I think he just likes the idea of being closer to the musty old museums out there. He practically drooled when we visited the Smithsonian."

Not wanting to talk about the man, House changed the subject, "When do you think that you would be moving?"

Mentally calculating how long everything would take, Buffy answered, "We have a few things to take care of here, but probably not much longer than a month."

"So, you'd be here for the last trimester of your pregnancy?" he checked, starting to make plans. He wanted to pamper her so much that she forgot about anyone else.

"Should be." Buffy's next words shot his hopes to hell, "By the way, I figured I should warn you that our kid is going to have a _lot_ of honorary uncles. Some of the other dad candidates were kinda bummed that you won the baby lottery. They are decent, caring guys, and I'm not about to shut them out now. If they were assholes, I wouldn't care, but they were worried about me and the baby from the second they found out."

House sat there, fighting his jealousy. He not only had to deal with the guy _already_ in her life, but all the other dad candidates? "I understand," he bit out carefully. He really did; if he wasn't the dad, he would ask for some part in the baby's life.

This time she did catch the hurt tone. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound inconsiderate. _You_ are the baby's dad. They just want to be a part of this however they can. And since most of them are law enforcement types, this kid is going to be the safest baby in the country!" she tried to cheer him up a little.

Knowing that it was a lost cause to fight it, House promised, "I'll try not to get all territorial."

"That's all I can ask. By the way, how did Dr. Wilson take the news?" she asked. She hadn't considered the other guy's reaction much – beyond figuring that he would take financial responsibility, even though it wasn't his fault.

"He's okay with it. He knows that it means more to me than it does to him," he admitted.

Buffy smiled. "Sounds like a good friend."

House chuckled. "And another honorary uncle for the parasite."

Suddenly Buffy giggled. "Sorry, it's just that I called it that once to some friends of one of the candidates." Then she looked at the clock in alarm; it was time to head to LA again to help Wes pack up. Oh joy! "Well, I'd better get going. Lots of packing and stuff to do."

Reluctant to let her go, House made one final plea, "Okay. Just let me know if you need anything, alright?"

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A/N: Next…Coming to New Jersey.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcoming Committee

**Chapter 2: Welcoming Committee**

A/N: In response to Challenge 3064: conception by conspiracy *non-stargate* by shelli.

A/N2: Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

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**Hospital conference room**

**One month later…**

Foreman looked at the other two underlings of House with a hopeful expression. "So, has anyone figured out what's up with House yet?" he inquired.

"No, and he was really disturbing today," Chase answered with a bit of a shudder

Concerned, Cameron asked, "What'd he do?"

"His clinic hours. And none of his patients complained about him," he added dramatically.

Foreman couldn't believe it. "You're kidding! None? Are you even sure he treated any?" he checked.

Nodding, Chase told them, "Yes. He had the clinic staff worried as well. After the fourth patient left quietly, the admitting nurse got suspicious and talked to the fifth patient. You know what the patient – _with a genital itch_ – told her?"

"I shudder to ask. House plus a possible sexually transmitted disease?" Cameron winced at the variety of crude things he could come up with.

But Chase just shook his head. "She told the nurse how relieved she was to get such a _professional_ doctor!"

"House? That clinches it! Something is seriously wrong with that man!" Foreman slammed his hand down on the table.

"Should we really be complaining about this? He's actually being a decent human being for once," Cameron offered hesitantly. Personally, she was freaked out, but it might make him a better doctor.

"It's just unnatural!" Foreman disagreed. "And you know that sometimes it's House's crappy bedside manner that gets us the necessary info to treat a patient."

Chase thought about that argument, then said, "We need to figure this out."

Knowing she was outnumbered – and possibly wrong – Cameron caved, "Alright. Let's grab the white board."

For the next hour, they wrote the things they knew, and tossed around theories. When Cuddy poked her head in to check on them, they jumped practically out of their chairs.

"Crap!" Foreman cursed. "We shouldn't have this thing facing the door. What if she'd been House?"

Cuddy stepped into the room, curious about that was going on. "What are you doing that you don't want House to know about?" She looked at the board. "Oh, thank god! Any luck in figuring him out?"

"No. We're running out of ideas, too. Do you have any?" Cameron questioned.

The hospital administrator studied the board closer, then pointed out, "Well, this has been going on longer than a month."

"What do you mean?" Chase asked, surprised that they had missed something.

"His less snarly behavior started then, but the first _overall_ change in him was a couple weeks before that," Cuddy reminded them.

Cameron thought back and realized, "She's right."

But Chase couldn't remember the change. "How much before?"

"Well, the first thing that come to my attention was when he called the physical therapy department for an appointment. They called me to make sure it wasn't a joke – which I had to check with him. That was the end of June," Cuddy said, trying to recall if it was the 29th or 30th.

Foreman pressed on, feeling that they were finally getting somewhere, "Do you remember anything else strange about that day?"

Stunned that she had forgotten, Cuddy remarked almost absently, "There were those visitors for him and Wilson."

"Visitors?" Foreman repeated.

"Yes. They were in the auditorium until I tracked Wilson down," Cuddy replied. She was trying to replay every word of her conversation with them for any clue, but couldn't come up with any.

Cameron went for the obvious question, "What were they like?"

"She was young, blonde, pretty. He was a bit older than me, brown hair, good looking. Both were nice," Cuddy rattled off the description. She could just kick herself for not thinking about this sooner.

Pulling her out of those thoughts, Chase asked, "Did they say what they wanted to talk to House and Wilson about?"

Cuddy shook her head regretfully, "No, but both guys seemed kind of out of it for the rest of the day."

Foreman finished writing the new information on the board, then stood back to look at it. "Hmm. What does that tell us? Assuming we can tie House's sudden interest in therapy to their visit, what could they have told him that would do that?" he posed the question to the room.

"Unless she's into kinky, three-way sex, I doubt it has anything to do with a romantic relationship," Chase was the first to offer a theory, then dismiss it.

Cameron glared at him for coming up with that one. "Ughh! Thanks for the mental image!"

He just defended himself, "I'm just saying, she wouldn't have needed to talk to _both_ of them."

Foreman picked up his train of thought and took it another direction, "Same reasoning if she was a love child – unless her mother slept with both of them and isn't sure which one is the father."

"Can we please get away from this line of thinking?" Cuddy pleaded. "What else?"

"Money? A better job? But only if House gets off the pain meds?" Cameron suggested.

Cuddy considered it for a minute before shooting it down, "Maybe. But he's gotten job offers before. He usually uses them to get something from the hospital."

Just then, Foreman's stomach rumbled. "Well, I'm getting too hungry to think straight. Let's take a break and grab something to eat."

"Sounds good," the others chorused.

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**Cafeteria**

Wilson paid the cashier, then turned to scan the cafeteria for his friend. When he located him, he found an odd sight. No hospital staff was sitting near him, but many throughout the room were sending nervous glances his way. Okay, that wasn't strange; what was, however, was House himself. He was oblivious to the havoc he caused while he ate his lunch…with a very happy expression on his face.

Not at all concerned by it, he went over and commented as he sat down, "So…you're extra cheery today. Dare I ask why?"

House grinned at him. "She's going to be at the house soon. She called to say they were picking up the keys from the realtor."

"That's great! Should we bring dinner over later?" Wilson wondered. Would that be too pushy of them?

For the first time, House's expression fell slightly. Apparently, that was his idea as well. "I don't know. They may still be in the hotel; depends on the movers."

Just then, the PA squawked, _"Doctor House to Emergency. Doctor House to Emergency.… Doctor Wilson to Emergency. Doctor Wilson to Emergency."_

A feeling of dread swept over Wilson. The odds were against it being her, but the fact they called for _both_ him and House – on the _day_ she got to town? "You don't think--?" he started to ask, but House was already rushing out the door as fast as his leg would allow.

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**Emergency room**

"What's the problem?" House bellowed out impatiently as soon as he walked through the doors.

The admitting nurse cringed when she heard the voice. That man had the worst reputation for being a pain in anyone's ass. "A patient asked for you and Dr. Wilson by name," she informed him, wondering to herself why she would ever _ask_ for House.

House began looking around the area for something or someone. When he didn't find it, he barked at the nurse again, "Where is she?"

She was startled. Had she said the patient was a woman? "How did you--? She's in examine four," the nurse said, not really caring anymore. She just wanted to get rid of him as quick as possible.

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**Examine room 4**

Before the door was closed, House started shooting out his questions, "Buffy! What happened? Are you alright? Is the baby okay?"

Buffy was touched by his obvious concern. However, it didn't change the fact she was in a hospital – someplace she hated to be. "I'm fine! I need you to tell them to let me go. Mom and Giles were hurt worse than me."

"So you _were_ hurt," he accused.

Now she rolled her eyes. "Barely. I sprained my wrist when I braced myself on the side of the care. The other vehicle hit Mom's side and I think she broke something. Giles got banged up, too. Please let me see them!" she pleaded, adding her pout for good measure.

Which had more of an effect on Wilson than on House at the moment. "I'll find out what's going on with them. You just rest there for now," Wilson replied kindly.

After he left, House calmed down a little. He could see with his own eyes that she appeared to be alright – at least externally. "Now, what happened?"

"We were driving to the house when a car ran a red light. All of us were wearing our seatbelts and I was in the back, so no problems there." Buffy's eyes watered with tears when she continued, "But the guy smashed into the front end of Mom's side pretty hard."

"They said the baby was okay, too?" House prodded. It wasn't that he didn't care about the others. Okay, so he didn't care much. But her being upset about them wouldn't be good for her or the baby.

Buffy nodded reassuringly, "Uh-huh. Nice strong heartbeat. They were going to do an ultrasound, but I thought you'd want to be here for that." She re-settled herself on the bed, and smiled at him. "So, nice to see you again. How ya doin'?" she asked conversationally.

Caught off guard by her abrupt change in subject, House snarked, "I'll tell you when _my_ heart rate is back to normal."

"Not exactly how I pictured my first day here. I figured if I ended up in the hospital, it would be because a box fell on me or something," she teased.

"Please don't joke like that," House reprimanded her. His mind was instantly filled with images of crates crushing her.

Seeing that he was genuinely upset, Buffy apologized, "Sorry."

Fortunately for them, Wilson came in, breaking the tension that was mounting. "Hey! Look who I found!"

Buffy looked at who came in behind Wilson and her face lit up – much to House's annoyance. She didn't smile that much when he came in. "Giles! Whoa, you look awful! Almost as bad as Stark did when we left."

Giles smirked at the memory, "That bad, huh? I'm relieved to see you are looking well. Everything is alright with both of you?" he asked pointedly.

She nodded, "Yep. Just waiting to hear about Mom, then the doctor wants to do an ultrasound."

Wilson took that as his cue to relay the information he got, "Well, you were correct about your mother; her right leg was broken in two places. The breaks are clean, though, so they should heal well. She also struck her head pretty hard on the window. They've taken her for a CAT scan."

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded like everyone was mostly okay. Then her face screwed up in confusion. "Why didn't you get one, Giles?" she demanded.

"The airbag blunted the majority of the blow. My injuries – ironically enough – were mostly due to the airbag itself," Giles remarked with a dry grimace.

"Oh."

Starting to feel like a third wheel, House cut in, "Can we do the ultrasound now?"

"I guess," Buffy allowed reluctantly. "Mom was there for the last one."

"Did you find out if it's a boy or girl yet?" House asked.

She shook her head, "Nope. Did you want to?" Buffy offered.

House was uncharacteristically shy about telling her, so he hedged, "It's your choice."

"You _do_ want to." Then she looked at Wilson and asked, "He does want to, doesn't he?"

"Probably," Wilson answered with a smirk. It was kind of fun to see his friend so off balance. Buffy was going to be an interesting addition to the hospital.

Remembering it didn't work out at the last ultrasound, Buffy commented, "Let's see if the doc can tell us this time."

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**A few minutes later…**

The ER doctor's eyes widened when he took in the three men standing with his patient. "Wow! Did you sell tickets for this? Hello, doctors," he greeted the men Buffy had requested. He was very curious why they were here.

"Yeah, yeah. You've got a great bedside manner. Can you just get on with it now?" House snapped.

Buffy raised an eyebrow at his brusque behavior. "Geez, you always this friendly?"

Wilson answered for his friend, "Sadly, this is friendly for House. Usually, he'd be swearing or pushing the doctor out of his way so he could do it himself."

"Oh great!" she muttered. Just what she needed from the father of her child.

The ER doctor just gave a bland smile, though. "Well, before he does either of those things, let's see what we have here. Did you decided if you want to know what you're having?" he inquired.

Buffy couldn't help but smirk at the question. If he only knew that they had some doubts when she first found out. "I assume it's a baby, but you never can tell. However, as for the baby's sex…yes, we'd like to know if it's a boy or girl."

The doctor turned to look at Giles. "We? This is the father?"

House growled softly, startling Buffy. "No, I am! Now get started before I do it for you!"

"Alright. Hmmm…like I said before, good heartbeat. No signs of trauma." He smiled at the image on the screen. "We seem to be in luck today; baby is cooperating. Congratulations, you're having a…"

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A/N: I know, I'm the worst kind of evil for leaving it like that. But just so you know, I was tempted to fake the chapter with the line _"Buffy and the baby died."_ So, it could have been worse.

A/N: Next…Now they just have to figure out how she got pregnant without having sex with House – 'cause they just can't see her doing that.


	3. Chapter 3: Rumors

**Chapter 3: Rumors**

A/N: Sorry this took so long; I'm having a devil of a time writing House and the other characters from that show. Even had to go and watch the first season again to get some clues.

A/N2: Meant to post the update Saturday night, but having trouble with Document Manager.

Challenge: #3064 by shelli.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

_Previously…_

"Alright. Hmmm…like I said before, good heartbeat. No signs of trauma." He smiled at the image on the screen. "We seem to be in luck today; baby is cooperating. Congratulations, you're having a…"

* * *

**Examine room #4**

"…little girl!" Dr. Mitchell finished. He pointed out the features for Buffy and Giles, knowing House and Wilson didn't need the assistance. "Would you like some pictures to show others? Your mother perhaps?"

Not taking her eyes off the screen, Buffy nodded, "Thank you, that would be wonderful! Giles, I'm having a girl!" she announced unnecessarily with a smile. Then she suddenly paled when a thought crossed her mind. "I'm having a _girl_! You don't think--"

Giles quickly cut her off, worried that her secret identity wouldn't be a secret much longer if she kept talking, "We'll talk about it later, but there's no reason to think so."

"What's the problem?" House demanded, worried that there was some family history that put his _daughter_ – oh, he liked the sound of that – in jeopardy somehow.

"Nothing," Buffy said, wincing at how rash she had been to almost announce that she was worried her daughter might be a Slayer with those not in the know standing there. _Okay, best way to handle this is deflection._ "By the way, somebody was listening in at the door, they just left," she told the others, hoping they'd take the bait.

Which Wilson did, thankfully. "How did you know?"

"Saw the shadow under the door since Dr. Mitchell came back in. Wasn't worried as long as we weren't talking about anything real private," she explained with a shrug. It wasn't like they'd be able to hide her pregnancy for long.

Still, Wilson seemed worried. "I'm gonna go check to see if anyone can tell us who it was."

Dr. Mitchell felt like he should leave these people to themselves; he did his job in making sure his patient and her unborn child were alright. Besides, it was kind of disturbing to picture such a sweet young lady with House, and he needed to get away from the mental images. "Well, my work here is done. Make sure that you let your doctor – or Dr. House – know if you experience any problems in the next few days. He can explain what those would be. Congratulations to both of you."

After the doctor left, Buffy turned to the father of her child and asked, "Is this gonna be all over the hospital by the end of the day now? If so, will that be a problem for you?"

But House didn't appear bothered. "Ehh, they'd find out eventually. Mitchell won't say anything though; he's too professional. But I can't speak for the snoop at the door. It'll probably be worse for you. Everyone will want to know how we got together. My reputation isn't the nicest around here," he admitted almost apologetically. He didn't really care what people thought of him, but now that might come back to hurt Buffy and their daughter, and he didn't like that. She might decide it wasn't worth the trouble of sticking around if it was too bad.

"You forget, I met you before. Your rep isn't really a surprise to me," she teased, recalling her thoughts of House when they told the two men about the experiment.

Upset that people might bother his Slayer, Giles growled, "How about you tell them it's none of their bloody business how you got together?"

Buffy giggled at the sight of Ripper making an appearance. Then she laid a calming hand on his arm – much to the irritation of House. _Who was this guy to Buffy? _"Sorry. He gets in his overprotective mode, and it gets dangerous for anyone who might upset me," she explained.

Before House could respond, Wilson popped back in the room. "The nurse at the desk said she saw Cuddy come in just after us and then she left a few minutes ago, looking sorta stunned. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what she overheard."

"That was the hospital administrator, right?" Buffy inquired, trying to remember the woman. They met far too many people over the summer, and other than the dads, very few people stuck out.

House sighed resignedly, "And she _doesn't_ have any concerns about talking about me. Of course, we could always threaten her with a lawsuit for violating patient privilege," he remarked, perking up at the thought. Tormenting Cuddy was a great pick-me-up for him.

"I thought you were okay with others finding out?" Buffy replied, somewhat hurt by his attitude. Was he ashamed of her and the baby?

He must have caught the tone of her voice. Either that, or Giles' glare clued him in that he screwed up. "I don't care if the whole _world_ knows. Like I said, they'll be harder on you than me," House reassured her, surprising Wilson with his tender attitude. The man really was changing for this woman and their child.

Deciding to change the subject before he dug himself any deeper, House offered, "So, do you want to meet the Ducklings right away, or wait until they do whatever it is they'll do when they find out about you and the baby?"

Buffy realized – or at least _hoped_ – that House was okay with them being there. "Well, I have to admit, I'm really curious about them. See if your descriptions are that far off."

Wilson rubbed his hand over his face, much like Giles did with his glasses. Maybe it was _his_ way of dealing with things that bothered him. "Do I want to know how you described them?" he asked, wincing as he did so.

"You already know; I've said the same thing to you. Hell, I've said the same thing to _them_," House retorted. There was no need to feel bad about it.

Smiling slightly, Buffy thought back to her phone conversations the past month. "Let me see if I remember this correctly. Foreman is the ex-criminal; Cameron was hired 'cause she's pretty; and Chase has a daddy who got him the job – gee, Giles, think he's related to Cordy?" she asked her Watcher with a smirk. Then she sobered up, remembering that there was somebody else in the hospital. "Before we worry about them, I'd like to check up on my mom first."

* * *

**Conference room**

When Cuddy finally made her way back to the room she and House's 'Ducklings' met earlier, Chase pounced. "Well? What did you find out? Was it a regular patient who asked for them, or is it something we should add to the board?"

Taking pity on the administrator, Cameron intervened, leading the woman to a chair and getting her a glass of water. "I'm guessing by the stunned look on her face, it's probably the latter. Unless we have a _new_ puzzle to worry about."

"Dr. Cuddy? Are you alright?" Foreman inquired, worried that she had barely blinked since coming in.

Cuddy spoke robotically, still shocked by the news, "House is going to be a father. She and her family were in an accident; that's why she was in the ER."

Now that she had started to talk, Foreman pressed, "You think it was the same woman who was here in June?"

"Possibly. I heard an English voice in the room with them, and the guy who came with her before was English," Cuddy answered, slowing coming out of the haze she was in.

Chase laughed ruefully. "Wow! Guess we shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss the threesome idea."

They all shuddered at the mental image, then sat quietly for a few minutes, trying to absorb the information.

Cameron was the first one to break the silence, "I just can't picture House being _happy_ to find out he's going to be a dad. Whenever we have a pregnant patient, he refers to the baby as a parasite." She also recalled him poking his nose in her medical records; thankfully, he didn't find out _everything_ because of the type of doctor she went to.

"But he sounded almost territorial of her and the baby. I don't think he was that bad about Stacy," Cuddy went on, still sounding slightly out of it.

Deciding that they had to make a choice, Foreman asked, "So how should we handle this now? Do we tell him we know or wait for him to tell us?"

"If we wait for him, the kid will probably be at college by that time," Chase answered. Their personal lives were fair game for House to invade, but he didn't appreciate when the roles were reversed.

"Maybe we should give him a baby shower," Cameron suggested. "Did you happen to hear if they're having a boy or girl?" she asked Cuddy.

Foreman looked stunned. "You want to give _House_ a baby shower?" Cameron shrugged in response.

But Cuddy backed her up, "She has a point; it's the easiest way to let him know we know. Dr. Mitchell said it's a girl according to the ultrasound."

Unable to stop his chuckles, Chase gasped out, "Does anyone else want to laugh at the idea of House dealing with a teenage daughter starting to date?"

Joining the blonde doctor in laughing, Foreman added, "That, or pity the poor guys who are crazy enough to ask her out."

Cuddy couldn't keep from shaking her head; she was beginning to get a headache from doing it, though. "This is just too surreal to deal with. What should we do about the party?"

"Maybe it should be at his place. Especially if he doesn't want the whole hospital to know about it. You don't think Dr. Mitchell would blab, do you?" Cameron inquired, not remembering the ER doctor very well.

Relieved to think of something other than House as a father, Cuddy immediately answered, "Not him. He is Mr. Ethics. There's no way he'd breach patient confidentiality – even for the chance to spread gossip about House."

* * *

**Joyce's room**

Buffy and company got to her mother's room just before Joyce came back from getting her CAT scan. The doctor looked startled to see Wilson and House there, but recovered quickly. "Ahh, it's good that you're here, Dr. Wilson. You can double-check my diagnosis for Ms. Summers."

The doctors gathered around the computer screen at the desk in the room to study the scan of Joyce's brain. They conferred softly, then turned back to the worried trio at the bed. Wilson was elected to take point in this matter. "Ms. Summers, there's a small shadow in your temporal lobe. We'll have to do a biopsy to be sure of what it is, but it's better if we wait a few days until you've recovered from the accident. Probably late next week would be long enough."

Fighting the fear that was bubbling up – if only for Buffy's sake – Joyce nodded, "That would be fine. I don't have to start my job until September anyway."

"What happens if it's something bad? I mean, it can't be something good, right? It's her brain, and there shouldn't be _any_ kind of shadows," Buffy babbled with very bright, wet eyes.

Wilson moved over and placed a reassuring one hand on Buffy's shoulder and the other on Joyce's hand. He smiled confidently and replied, "Even if it's something to worry about, we happened to find it very, very early. In a way, this accident could be considered a good thing."

Feeling somewhat better, Joyce inquired, "How long do I have to stay in the hospital? For the accident, I mean."

Dr. Felger spoke up this time, "Your vitals are good, but because of the head injury, I'd like to keep you overnight for observation. Just to be safe."

"Giles, why don't you take Buffy back to the house then? Maybe you two could get some of the unpacking done tonight," Joyce suggested, knowing that they wouldn't get any sleep until she came home. Buffy needed something physical to do, and since patrolling was out, unpacking was all they had for her.

The Watcher understood Joyce's motives and hastily agreed; Buffy needed a distraction. "We'll take care of it – except for your personal papers and your bedroom," he promised.

"Did you want some help?" House quickly offered, surprising Dr. Felger. "Wilson and I could come over with dinner. We were going to anyway, before we heard about the accident. We just weren't sure if you'd be at the house or still in the hotel tonight."

Buffy gave him a weak smile. "Thanks. That would be great." She and Giles would have to hide the boxes that had Slayer stuff in them before the doctors arrived. She wasn't quite ready to tell all her secrets just yet.

* * *

A/N: Next…House's history lesson.


	4. Chapter 4: Confiding and Announcing

**Chapter 4: Confiding and Announcing**

A/N: Okay, I know that the Gibbs update is a lot longer than House's, but blame the party for most of that.

Challenge: #3064 by shelli.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**

* * *

**

Summers/Giles home

As promised, House and Wilson showed up that evening – dinner in hand. They sort of cheated by asking Joyce for dinner suggestions. What she told them had them each raising an eyebrow in disbelief. For the three men, they ordered 9 ounce steaks with the fixin's, but for Buffy, she warned them to increase the steak size to 42 ounces. In addition, they were also told to bring appetizers and ice cream.

Setting down his bags, Wilson explained the massive amounts of food they brought so they didn't insult Buffy, "We weren't sure if Ms. Summers – Joyce – was pulling our legs, but then we decided-"

House rolled his eyes at the attempt at tactfulness, then butted in, "That with pregnant women, you can never be too careful. Those little parasites can require a lot of energy. And besides, with everything that's happened today, who knows when the last time you had a good meal was." Even though his speech was less than polite, it was still said with a real touch of concern.

The Slayer and Watcher just shared an amused look; they had ordered two pizzas just that afternoon when they got home. And Giles had only eaten half of one of them. Eventually the doctors would figure out that this was her normal appetite, but they would let them think it was just because of her pregnancy metabolism. It was the Slayer metabolism they wanted to keep quiet as long as possible.

"So, what kind of yummy frozen goodness did you get?" Buffy demanded, bouncing in place – clearly showing she didn't need any more sugar.

Reaching into the bag, House pulled out the cartons. "Your mother said your favorites were rocky road and rainbow sherbet. For Mr. Giles, we got Dulce de Leche – that's the fancy name they called caramel. As per our _orders_, we also brought chocolate syrup, and both chocolate and colored sprinkles…oh, and gummy bears."

Buffy squealed and gave him a fierce hug before trying to snatch the treats away from him. "Oh! You are my absolute favorite-ist daddy of my child!"

He stepped out of her reach and swung the bag towards Giles. "Didn't think the competition was that fierce." He didn't want her to see how concerned she had made him with her flippant comment. _How much competition did he have?_

Shrugging her shoulders, Buffy quipped, "Eh, details. Now gimme the food before baby and I get cranky."

The two doctors watched in astonishment as Buffy devoured most of the appetizer platter before diving into her meal. Their eyes widened as she moaned when she tasted the twice-baked potato and specially seasoned steak. It seemed out of place for food. Doubly odd that such a petite, little girly woman would get _that_ much enjoyment from eating.

House glared at Wilson when his friend blushed and coughed uncomfortably at the sound. He could read Wilson's mind, and if anyone was going to be thinking things like that about the mother of his child, it would be _him_, not anyone else.

Wilson felt House's glare and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the jealousy he saw in his friend's eyes. This could be good for some payback – if he could get Buffy's help. He'd have to see what kind of humor she had first.

When they were finally done with dinner, Giles told the now happily full mother-to-be, "Buffy, why don't you go relax on the porch swing while I clean up. Maybe Dr. House can join you so you can get to know each other better. We'll let dinner settle for a bit before having ice cream."

"Okie-dokie. You know I'm always for leaving you with the work," Buffy said with a teasing smile as she stretched her back. She turned to House and gestured to the patio doors. "Ya' want to join me…? What should I call you? House…Gregory…_Egoman_?"

Wilson knew immediately that he had an ally in pranks against House. His eyes gleamed in excitement.

"I was going to say Greg, but now I think maybe Master would be a better choice," House declared haughtily.

Buffy raised eyebrow and hid her shudder at the familiar name. "That'll happen…_suuure_," she drawled, then gave him an evil smile. "Ready to go, Master Pain-in-the-Ass?"

Wiping his glasses, Giles couldn't help but tease his Slayer, "Oh dear. This is going to be Xander and Cordelia all over again, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Buffy answered after recovering from her shock that he would tease like that. "But even if it were, would that be so wrong? After all, we _are_ having a child together."

The Watcher knew he shouldn't have attempted to match wits with Buffy when she was in a teasing mood. "Just please try not to scandalize the hospital staff. Or get the father of your child fired for inappropriate behavior."

House's antenna for juicy gossip pinged. "Ooo, this sounds like a good story! Will I meet these people at some point so I can throw it in their faces at the most embarrassing moment?"

"Eh, Xander should be here at least for the baby's birth – if not before. Just be warned that he'll get even for anything you do to him. I'm guessing that there's a lot of people around here willing to help him, too," Buffy remarked, looking pointedly at Wilson, who just smiled happily in return.

"That's right! Cuddy and I have some great stories to share for the right price," Wilson offered, much to House's dismay.

"Ahh, I think it's time for us to go out on the porch now," House said, practically pulling Buffy out of the room – out of range of the laughing Wilson and chuckling Giles.

* * *

Once they were settled on the swing, House asked, "So, what would you like to talk about? World peace? Rice harvesting techniques in China?"

Buffy smirked at his attempt to deflect; he knew what she wanted to talk about. "Well, why don't you tell me how the med thing is going? Last time we talked, you said that you started therapy and switched to a less addictive pain reliever."

"To start with, Wilson was thrilled that you gave me that ultimatum," he announced. When she just looked confused, House added, "He and Cuddy conspired a few months ago to get me to admit I even _was_ addicted."

"What do you mean?" For some reason, Buffy wasn't sure she liked the sound of this.

House absently rubbed his leg, not noticing that his actions caught Buffy's attention. "He told Cuddy to bet me that I couldn't go a week without any Vicodin. They knew I would take the bet because if I won, she'd let me off clinic duty for a month."

Her eyes widened in alarm. "But isn't that dangerous to quit like that? I thought you were supposed to be in a special program with help and other drugs to counteract the withdrawal effects." Forgetting that they had already discussed this, Buffy asked, "You didn't go cold turkey this time, did you?"

"It is, and I didn't," House answered, pleased at her concern for his well-being. "This time I quit the right way – with therapy, other medications and massages. It's made a world of difference too. The hell I went through during the bet was bad enough once; I wasn't about to do that again."

Deciding this wasn't exactly her battle to fight, Buffy still asked, "Did you at least win the bet?"

"Yup. And the second the bet was over, I popped a couple pills; told Wilson I might be an addict, but I'm a functioning one," he said with a small smirk.

Buffy took a deep breath and let it out. "So I guess you weren't too happy about my ultimatum, huh?" she asked quietly.

He reached over to take her hand. "The way I see it, you have every right to make some rules where our child is concerned – especially since you don't know me that well. It's one thing to be a functioning addict at work; it's quite another at home. At least at the hospital, there are people to double-check and triple-check my ideas to make sure the chances of me hurting a patient are within accepted guidelines."

"'Accepted guidelines'?" Buffy snorted at the phrase. "Sounds like lawyer-speak for CYA. Do you think you ever put anyone at risk because of your addiction?"

"Only when I was trying to quit because of the bet," he answered without thinking. When he realized what he said, he explained, "My brain wasn't too clear that week. I blame the pain."

Surprised at his will-power to stop for her and the baby, Buffy felt obliged to offer, "Well, if there's anything I can do to make your rehab easier…"

House grinned and inquired with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows, "Does that include wearing a naughty nurse's uniform and giving me a sponge bath?"

Buffy giggled for a second, then started to pout. "Now that I'm starting to show, I'm not sure you _want_ to see me in that kind of outfit."

"How 'bout a low-cut blouse then? Show off your increasing assets a little?" he counter-offered. He wouldn't say no to the outfit either, but decided not to risk the 'Do I look fat?' question.

She slapped him lightly on the arm in reprimand. "Oh my gosh! You're like an older version of Xander! Is sex all you can think about?"

"Hey! Like you told your friend earlier, you _are_ the mother of my child; thinking about having sex with you is kind of a gimme," House defended himself. Actually, until that moment, he hadn't really considered it before. Okay, maybe once or twice – but not for more than a couple minutes…ten minutes at the most…at one time.

Even though she was almost certain he was joking, Buffy wanted to make it clear. "Uhh, no it isn't. At least not until we get to know each other better – and assuming we can stand each other. By that I mean, assuming I can stand _you_. You're awfully smug and know-it-all-y."

House laughed at her speech, then snootily corrected her, "It's called 'knowledgeable', not 'know-it-all-y'."

"See! Stuff like that!" she declare triumphantly with a poke to his ribs. "Giles is super smart too, but he accepts my Buffy-speak. Either that or I broke him years ago."

Not liking the fond look in her eyes when she talked about the other guy, House changed the subject, "I don't feel like talking about _Giles_. By the way, how are you about being the center of public speculation for a little bit?" he asked with an evil gleam in his eyes.

Buffy looked at him warily. "I don't know…why?"

"I had a great idea about how to deal with telling the hospital about you and the baby," House told her, feeling for the package in his coat pocket.

Her expression was still cautious as she asked, "It's not gonna involve 'inappropriate behavior' is it?"

House's eyes danced with amusement. "Only if you want it to. I got you something to wear tomorrow when you visit your mother." He took the bag out of his pocket to show her.

Buffy bounced for a second before realizing that a swing wasn't the best place to do that. "Ooo, a prezzie? Gimme!" she ordered.

"Man, you're demanding!" House griped.

She just waved off his complaint. "Uh-huh, now I want my prezzie!" He handed her a bag and she looked inside, studying it for a couple minutes. She was trying not to giggle when she looked up again. "Are you serious?"

House just looked at her innocently though. "What? Too subtle?"

"Oh man, can I at least put a hoodie on when I see my mom?" Buffy pleaded.

He peeked at it again, then asked, "You don't think she'd like it?"

**

* * *

**

P-PTH front reception area

**The next morning…**

When they walked in the front door, House called out as loud as he could – much to Buffy's embarrassment, "Excuse me, people! I have an important announcement to make. For those of you who don't know me, go back to what you were doing; this doesn't concern you in the slightest. For everyone else, I'd just like to say something to avoid any unnecessary rumors. The lovely young lady standing next to me is carrying my daughter. Thank you. Go about your business."

"Oh yeah, _real_ subtle. I thought the outfit was supposed to make the announcement for us," Buffy hissed at him. She was just glad that Giles had stayed at the house to keep unpacking.

House just shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, I thought this would be fun, too."

Buffy rolled her eyes at his behavior. "You're five," she said.

He snorted before telling her, "Not possible. I couldn't have produced the sperm to get you pregnant if I were."

Bad mental image there! Buffy started walking towards the elevators. "Forget it; I'm going to my mom's room now."

"Don't forget to take the sweatshirt off until you get there!" he yelled after her.

* * *

Buffy met Wilson just outside the elevator on her mom's floor. His eyes widened when he saw the t-shirt that House gave her the night before.

"How did House convince you to wear that?" he questioned.

She was wondering that herself now that she was actually doing it. "He just thought it would be faster than explaining to every single person here. Wait, you haven't seen the back yet."

Wilson's eyes got even wider. "There's more?"

"Yup," Buffy quipped, holding the shirt out for him to read.

On the front of the shirt, the wording was: _'I am carrying Dr. Gregory House's child.'_ Buffy twirled to show Wilson the back: _'If you can't figure out how that happened, I beg of you to stay away from members of the opposite sex until you do.'_

* * *

Buffy left Wilson – who was still trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard – so she could get to her mom. As she turned the corner, she bumped into a doctor with light brown hair.

"Excuse me," the woman said before her eyes went wide with shock/fright/some emotion Buffy couldn't identify. The woman must have read the shirt because she asked, "The _Slayer_ is carrying House's baby?"

* * *

A/N: Just wanted to give everyone a head's up that the next several months are going to be very hectic for me, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update any of my stories. I'm not abandoning anything, and if I get the chance to post, I will.

A/N2: Next…What's the problem with the doctor? Can you guess who it is?


	5. Chapter 5: Lost Family

**Chapter 5: Lost Family**

Challenge: #3064 'conception by conspiracy *non-stargate*' by shelli.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

_

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_

Previously…

Buffy left Wilson – who was still trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard – so she could get to her mom. As she turned the corner, she bumped into a doctor with light brown hair.

"Excuse me," the woman said before her eyes went wide with shock/fright/some emotion Buffy couldn't identify. The woman must have read the shirt because she asked, "The _Slayer_ is carrying House's baby?"

**

* * *

**

P-PTH, floor with Joyce's room

Buffy looked for a empty room to drag the doctor in. "What did you say?" she demanded once they were away from prying eyes and ears.

The young doctor kept talking like she hadn't heard Buffy's question, "It's just of all the people in the world, House is fathering _your_ child?"

"How do you know who I am?" Buffy tried again, giving the woman a slight shake of the shoulders.

It must have worked because the doctor's eyes focused on the Slayer again. "Oh, sorry. Got a little distracted by the House issue. I've heard about you from my brother out in California," she explained with a smile. So, apparently it was a good thing…maybe.

Going with the logical assumption, Buffy guessed, "They lived in Sunnydale?"

Unfortunately she was wrong. "No. Actually, he was from LA." The doctor's eyes moistened with unshed tears, and she had to clear her throat before adding, "He worked with your ex for a little while before he was killed."

"Worked with Angel…" the Slayer trailed off as she attempted to figure it out. The only guy she knew was Wes. Oh, there was that one from around Thanksgiving; he died shortly after that if she remembered correctly. "Wait, was he a short guy with an Irish accent?"

"Yes. Francis Doyle, but he preferred to go by Doyle," the brunette replied with a sad smile.

Knowing how embarrassing the wrong first name could be, Buffy grinned back. "Gee, big surprise. But hold on, he was…" she looked around for any eavesdroppers before she spilled the big secret.

The doctor finished for her, "A half-demon? Yeah, I know; so am I." She felt fairly safe in admitting it to this particular Slayer. Buffy had a reputation for fairness when it came to neutral demons.

Buffy whistled in admiration at the woman's guts. "Wow. That's gotta be tough to keep quiet in a hospital – especially if you work with Greg. I got the impression he enjoyed solving riddles."

"He does," the doctor admitted ruefully. "Fortunately I got human genes, so my blood looks completely normal. Well, there's one tiny anomaly, but you have to know to look for it." Just her luck, someday House would decide to look.

"I'm sorry about Doyle. I only met him one time – and we didn't get a chance to talk for long." Buffy felt really awkward talking about somebody she barely knew, but she felt the need to add, "From what I heard, it sounds like he died a hero though. Not sure if that means anything to you."

"Not thrilled that he died, but it helped him come to terms with his situation. And he got to out-hero the champion he was helping, so that had to be nice for him." The brunette winced when she realized how that might sound to Buffy and apologized, "Oh, sorry…I forgot his champion was your ex."

The Slayer just snickered though, "Don't worry. I got the stars out of my eyes where Angel's concerned months ago. Just so you know, it's often the 'sidekicks' that save the day. Or at least make it possible for the champions to do it. My friends made all the difference in why I'm still alive when most other Slayers would be dead. So even without his final act, Doyle was a hero," she said with genuine admiration in her voice.

Doyle's sister blushed on his behalf. "Thanks. I know that would mean a lot to him coming from you."

"So how do you know Greg?" Buffy asked, deciding to get to the other important part of the conversation.

The woman held out her hand to shake Buffy's. "I'm one of his interns," she began to introduce herself.

"You must be Cameron then," Buffy interjected, shaking the intern's hand firmly, yet gently. How strong was a half-demon anyway?

Cameron couldn't help the slight flush of excitement she felt at knowing House told Buffy about her. "He mentioned us?"

"Umm, kinda? I figured that since you were the only female in the group, that would make you the quote 'pretty one' unquote," Buffy replied with a embarrassed grin. She realized how sexist that would sound, but chances were that Greg had said worse to the interns' faces.

"I can't believe he said that to you," Cameron fumed. "What am I saying? It's House! Of _course_ he said that to you!"

Buffy tried to calm Cameron down by letting her know she was used to blunt people like Greg, "Don't worry, I know people like him. People who don't think the word 'tact' should apply to anything they say."

"That's definitely House," Cameron agreed. She started staring at Buffy again in amazement. "Wow, I still can't get over the fact the Slayer is pregnant – and with House's child. Were you drunk or something?"

Despite how much Greg probably deserved to be mocked or ridiculed, Buffy simply shook her head and said, "I think I'll leave the explanation up to Greg to share – if he wants to."

Sighing in resignation, Cameron remarked with a grin, "Okay, but I can't say the curiosity won't drive me crazy."

"Just like I'm sure my being the Slayer would drive him crazy…right?" Buffy guessed. She wondered how long she could keep it a secret before she _had_ to tell him the truth.

"You're definitely right about that!" Cameron agreed wholeheartedly. "House abhors things he can't explain with science – so your abilities having no basis in things he can quantify?"

Buffy had a sudden, horrible flashback to Walsh and her minions. The fear was evident in her eyes as she asked, "Would he try to turn me or the baby into a lab rat?"

"I'd like to reassure you and say no way," Cameron began, truly meaning what she was saying, "but I honestly don't know. The good news is that a couple months ago my answer would have leaned towards yes," she added, offering a breadcrumb of hope to the worried Slayer/mother-to-be.

"Really?"

Cameron nodded. "He _hates_ unsolved puzzles!"

"You said a couple months ago. What's changed?" Buffy inquired, praying to the PTB that it was something she could use to her and her daughter's advantage. There was no way she wanted to give up slaying just to end up in a cage to be studied. And she'd kill anyone who tried to do it to her baby – even if it was her baby's father. Whoa, guess she didn't have to worry about the maternal instinct not being very strong because she was the Slayer.

Cameron gave her a small, reassuring smile. "I think _you_ have. Well, you and the baby. He's going to therapy, not taking as many pain pills and not being such an ass to everyone. It's freaking us all out," she admitting, not quite successful at containing her laughter.

Buffy rolled her eyes as she thought back to the end of June. She completely understood where Cameron was coming from. "I remember what he was like when we first visited, and if he was like that all of the time, I can't say I blame you for being worried. All I can say – and maybe I shouldn't say even this much – but he's very happy about the baby and the chance to be a father. I've seen people change personalities for less."

"Well, even if it is a little disturbing, I have to say, I still like this House better," Cameron commented, unaware how her eyes lit up slightly when she thought about him.

But Buffy caught it and had to ask, "'Like' as in colleague-like or as in like-like?" She wasn't sure how she felt about the father of her baby being with someone else. Then again, there was nothing that said they _had_ to be involved to share responsibility for her. Might be nice, but it wasn't absolutely necessary.

Cameron felt her face flush in embarrassment as she thought about how to answer that loaded question. Not only was this the mother of House's child, but the Slayer as well. And she was a demon. Who knows how far Buffy's mercy would extend in these circumstances. "Uh, umm."

"Sorry. Had my own little tactless moment there. It really isn't my business." However, she thought that Cameron's discomfort answered for her. Now the question was, who did _Greg_ care for?

Suddenly realizing something rather important, Cameron asked, "So you and House aren't together?"

"Not at the moment. To be honest, I'm not even sure he'd be interested. I mean, he's this famous genius doctor guy and I'm just a college student. He'd probably have more to talk about with my mother than with me. Not that I would try to set them up or anything 'cause that would make us way too 'Jerry Springer' for my taste. You know, _'My baby's daddy is my step-daddy'_," Buffy babbled without a breath. On the other side of the country, Willow felt a jolt of pride without realizing why.

"That _is_ a little too freaky," Cameron agreed with a shudder. "And coming from a half-demon, that's saying something."

Buffy smiled at Doyle's sister. It would be nice to get to know her better; maybe learn a bit more about the seer who helped Angel in LA. "I like you. Wanna go shopping this weekend? Greg offered to let me take care of the 'essentials' for Baby Girl Summers-House," she said with a wicked grin.

Cameron's return smile was equally evil. Men everywhere would have shaken in fear if they had seen the pair at that moment. "Spend House's money? How could I possibly pass up an opportunity like that?"

"Good. I'll make sure that I leave our number before Mom and I leave the hospital," the blonde promised as she made her way towards the door.

Reaching out to stop the younger woman, Cameron said in her usual caring manner, "I hope she's doing well."

"Me too. I'm not too proud to admit I want my mommy for the next few months," Buffy replied with bright eyes, then corrected herself, "…or years."

Cameron removed her hand from Buffy's arm. "I'd better let you get to her before House finds out I've kidnapped you for a talk."

"I think it was the other way around, but yeah, good idea." She waved slightly as she walked out and turned towards her mother's room.

**

* * *

**

Room next to House's office

"Did you hear about House and the mystery woman this morning?" Foreman demanded as soon as Chase walked in.

Chase rolled his eyes at the memory of the last hour. "Which? The announcement he made in the lobby, or the shirt she was wearing?"

That bit of news caught Foreman off-guard. "A shirt? What did it say?"

"It was vintage House. On the front it said she was pregnant with his kid and on the back it was some snarky comment about staying away from the opposite sex if you couldn't figure out how it happened." Chase tried to look disgusted, but couldn't hide the small smile of amusement, remembering all the spit-takes he saw as she passed people.

From her place by the door, Cameron replied smugly, happy to be one up on the guys for once, "I met her."

Chase looked like a kid on Christmas morning. "Really? What's she like?" he asked eagerly.

"Does she have some kind of mental condition?" Foreman inquired a little more cynically.

Before Cameron could answer, House walked in and did so for her, "Yes. It's called 'Chronic Good Taste'. Don't worry though, it isn't contagious." He sat down and put his feet up on the table, leaning back in his chair to get comfortable. "So…does this help your diagnosis of what's 'wrong' with me?" he asked with a not-so-believeable look of innocence.

Forgetting that maybe they should deny the allegation, Cameron stuttered out, "Umm, how did you know?"

"Please. It's House," Chase scoffed. "He probably has the conference room bugged."

House looked intrigued by the blond Aussie's guess. "Good idea. I'll have to remember that for the future. Actually, you forgot to erase the board before you went home last night. Very sloppy," he tutted like a disappointed schoolteacher. "Apparently I haven't taught you how to be sneaky enough."

Foreman didn't really care that they had been caught; it made finding out the truth that much easier…so he thought. "So, who is she? How did you meet her?"

"Why don't you ask Cameron? She's the one who talked to her," House replied, somewhat interested to see what Buffy would have said to a virtual stranger about them.

"Her name's Buffy Summers, but she wouldn't tell me about your history with her," Cameron recited some safe facts. Deciding that maybe it would be better not to reveal her own connection to the Slayer, she finished with, "She said it was your choice whether to tell us."

"Really? How delightfully naïve of her," House said with a thoughtful expression. Poor girl would have to learn the hard way there were no secrets in his hospital – at least not where he was concerned. Then he was reminded of how much he wanted this child; he may have to choose between curiosity and family. For once, he wasn't sure which would win.

His attention was drawn back to the present with Chase's next inquiry, "What I don't get is why did she need to talk to _both_ you and Dr. Wilson in June?"

Purely for shock value, House stated bluntly, "Because she wasn't sure which one of us was the father."

"Ugh! You mean we were right about the three-way?" Foreman looked like he was going to be sick.

Suddenly House felt bad for making it sound like that and had the urge to defend Buffy's honor, "Hey! That's the mother of my daughter you're talking about. She's not a slut…that I know of," he corrected himself. She didn't seem like she was though.

Even though she already knew, Cameron asked the logical follow-up question, "You don't know her?"

"Only from our phone conversations this past month – once we determined I was the father," House explained, not willing to play with Buffy's reputation anymore than he already did with his t-shirt stunt.

Foreman wasn't willing to concede on the slut issue just yet. "If she wasn't sure who the father was-"

Glaring at his intern, House cut him off before he could say the rest of that sentence, "She was inseminated. And the quack doctor who did it only had a list of possible donors. Wilson and I were on that list. It was done without Buffy's knowledge or permission. Normally, I'd tell you take a flying leap, but I'm concerned about how she's doing with all this, and I need your help to make sure she's okay."

The almost human plea took all three of them back for a moment. Foreman recovered first and commented snarkily, "It _looks_ like House, and the voice is the same, but it sure doesn't _sound_ like him."

"Do it or you're fired!" House ordered with a growl.

Chase almost laughed at the response, but settled for replying, "_That_ sounds like him."

Ignoring the male behavior surrounding her, Cameron said, "I'll help, but only for her sake. Besides, it's nice to have another woman around that I can talk to. We're even going shopping this weekend with your money," she reported with an evil grin.

It was the grin that caught House's attention. "Should I be worried?"

Cameron loved the feeling of power she had with this information. She got up to refill her coffee cup, then leaned against the counter as she warned him, "She's a California girl with a blank check for shopping; you should be _terrified_."

**

* * *

**

House's apartment

**That evening…**

Once they finished dinner, Buffy made herself comfortable on the sofa. "How did it go with your ducklings?" she asked, wondering what Cameron told him.

House plopped down next to her and put his feet up on the coffee table. His leg twinged a bit, so he began to massage away the pain as best he could. "Eh, they're still worried I'm some sort of pod person because I actually show concern for somebody other than myself. I hear you and Cameron are going to bankrupt me this weekend," he said with a bit of a question in his voice.

"Depends on how much money you have to start with," Buffy answered with a smirk. Seeing the pain in his eyes, she grabbed the pill bottle next to her and tossed it to him – which he gratefully accepted. "We actually might want to wait until after the baby shower."

"Baby shower?" he asked once he swallowed the pills.

Buffy's mind was somewhere else at the moment. She was thinking about asking Willow and Tara if they knew any spells or potiony things to help Greg with his pain. She didn't want her baby to be around an addict, but she also didn't want him to suffer unnecessarily. When he nudged her, she shook her head to clear it and said, "Uh-huh. Cameron told me about it when I talked to her this afternoon. Apparently you were going to host the baby shower here in your apartment."

Alarmed at having a bunch of people in his apartment, House blurted, "What?"

"You still can if you want to," she couldn't help but tease. "But I suggested that maybe it would be better to do it at my house – since that's where most of the stuff would end up anyway."

House breathed a sigh of relief, both from the news and from the pain – even though he logically knew it was too early for the medicine to have kicked in. "Sounds good to me. Now…do you want to explain why you got so worried when you found out we are having a daughter?" he asked the dreaded question Buffy foolishly hoped he had forgotten.

**

* * *

**

Summers/Giles home

**That weekend…**

Setting down her bags, Cameron warned, "Buffy, I thought I'd better give you a head's up that House found a puzzle where you're concerned, and he's about to start us looking into your past. I convinced him to hold off until after our shopping trip; I told him I'd try to find out what you're so worried about."

Even though she knew the answer, Buffy still asked, "So he didn't believe that bit about me being worried that my mom's curse I'd end up with a daughter as bad as myself would come true?"

"Not so much," Cameron replied sympathetically.

Buffy just shrugged. "Damn. I thought that was kind of weak when I said it, but he caught me off guard with his question," she said with a small pout.

"Well, you'd better come up with a better answer…and quick. Either that, or tell him the truth about being the Slayer," Cameron suggested, not thinking she would take the advice.

Which Buffy confirmed, "I'm not ready to do that yet."

"I understand," she said, truly meaning it. "By the way, I haven't told him that we have a connection; I thought it would make me too much of a target for him to get information from."

"I wasn't sure. But when he didn't say anything about us kind of knowing each other, I thought you might have a reason for not telling him so I kept quiet too," Buffy replied.

Cameron felt a need to defend herself even though Buffy's tone wasn't accusing, "It's as much for you as it is for me. If he knew that you could tell him anything about my past, he'd be hounding you too."

Buffy laughed, believing that it was true. "Doesn't believe in the right to privacy, does he?"

"Only when it pertains to his privacy; the rest of us are fair game," Cameron confirmed.

**

* * *

**

P-PTH parking lot

**Following week…**

"Buffy will be relieved to hear that the shadow on your CAT scan was just that…a shadow," Giles said as they left the hospital. "She needs you more than ever now."

Joyce smiled at her daughter's Watcher, somebody she was beginning to see as a friend to both of them. "Thank you for coming instead of her. How did you manage to keep her away?" she finally asked the question that had been plaguing her since he arrived at the hospital alone.

Clearing his throat guiltily, Giles ducked his head as he answered, "I lied to her; told her that the test was pushed back until tomorrow."

"She's going to kill you!" Joyce said without thinking.

"Won't you protect me?" Giles pleaded, hoping that having Joyce on his side would help.

She looked at his haggard expression, knowing how much it would have hurt him to keep Buffy out of this. Reaching over to squeeze his hand, Joyce replied, "I guess I should, seeing as how it was because I asked you to keep her out of it."

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Giles suggested, "And maybe we should pick up some ice cream as a peace offering while we're at it?"

Joyce chuckled. "You have quite the devious mind, Rupert Giles." Hopefully the bribe would help calm the hormonal Slayer.

**

* * *

**

Summers/Giles home

Those hopes were dashed as Giles confessed to Buffy. She stood up and started pacing, stopping every so often to open her mouth like she was going to say something, only to shut it again. Finally, she calmed down enough to growl out, "So help me…if you _ever_ do something like that again! I don't care if I'm in the middle of labor; if something is going on with somebody I love, I want you to tell me…got it?" she commanded.

Joyce couldn't let Giles take all the blame for this. "I'm sorry that I asked Rupert to keep you away. I was just worried that if the news was bad, it would cause trouble with your pregnancy." Her plan to protect her daughter was backfiring rather bad at the moment.

Staring at her mother like she was an alien or something, Buffy demanded, "What? Were you planning to hide it from me if you had to get treatment?" Without letting Joyce answer, she turned to Giles, hurt dripping from her voice, "I thought we promised never to lie to each other again."

Giles fought back the tears threatening to spill. It was worse than he thought. "We did. I'm sorry I broke your trust. At the time it made sense though," he offered weakly.

His Slayer just shook her head, not believing that he would do this to her after all they had been through. "I need to go be by myself for a little bit," she whispered, storming out the front door to the house.

Hearing the door slam, Giles buried his hands in his face. "I really screwed up this time," he said mournfully.

Joyce sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulder. Knowing her daughter, she felt confident in saying, "She _will_ forgive you."

Giles chuckled mirthlessly and asked, "Yes, but will she ever _trust_ me again?"

* * *

A/N: Extra long because I wanted to end with this emotional cliffie.

A/N2: Next…I'll have to get back to you on that, but I think it's the baby shower.


	6. Chapter 6: Relationships Change

****

Chapter 6: Relationships Change

A/N: Buffy's 21 weeks (just over 5 months) pregnant at the beginning of this chapter.

Challenge: #3064 'conception by conspiracy *non-stargate*' by shelli.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

_

* * *

_

Previously…

Joyce sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulder. Knowing her daughter, she felt confident in saying, "She _will_ forgive you."

Giles chuckled mirthlessly and asked, "Yes, but will she ever _trust_ me again?"

**

* * *

**

House's apartment

**Same night…**

"Buffy! What are you doing here?" House asked when he opened his door and found the mother of his child standing there.

She shrugged, clearly upset about something, but not looking like she wanted to talk about it. "I just had to get out of the house for a little bit, so I went for a walk and ended up here."

Since he kept the distances in mind when he looked for houses, House knew how far she walked. "That's almost two miles!" he declared exasperatedly.

Hearing the irritation in his voice, but not understanding why, Buffy asked, "So? Isn't exercise supposed to be good?"

The look on House's face… He wasn't sure if he should hug her because she was so upset, or hit her with his cane for being so-so _argh_! Taking a breath to settle his nerves, House replied through gritted teeth, "Sure, but since I doubt you intended to come here, it was rather dangerous for you to walk around in such a distracted state. What's the problem? I thought your mother's test results were good."

Buffy ignored the anger she felt coming from the father of her child so she could focus on a more important topic – at least to her. "How did you know? She and Giles just told me." She glared at him suspiciously; if they told him before they told her…

"I took a look," he answered nonchalantly – like it was his right or something. "I knew that her health would be a concern for you, and since your health is my concern-"

"You thought it gave you the right to snoop," she cut him off. Surprisingly, his answer made her feel better. At least Giles and her mom weren't telling everyone but her.

House led her over to the couch and sat down. Once she joined him, he asked, "Now what's the problem?"

For a couple minutes he wasn't sure she was going to tell him. Then Buffy started babbling at light-speed, "He lied to me. After everything we've been through, we promised never to lie or keep secrets again, but he lied to me."

"Who?" he asked once he deciphered most of what she said. He could only hope it was one of the other father candidates, and she was going to cut him out of her life now. His eyes grew dreamy as he imagined that it was all of the other father candidates. No competing with a dozen guys for her attention or time…what an ideal world.

"Giles," Buffy answered, yanking him back to reality. "He told me Mom's test was pushed back until tomorrow so I wasn't there for it. She asked him to keep me away in case the news was bad."

Oh, _him_. Even though he only knew them for a short time, House knew that getting Giles out of Buffy's life wouldn't be a good thing – even if it made her more accessible to him. It'd be like losing Wilson. Or maybe not being able to be a doctor anymore. Or something in between those two things. Thank goodness they were in private because he was about to do something completely out of character for him: console somebody.

"It's a fact of life: people lie. But I can tell that isn't what you want to hear right now. …Okay, the comfort thing isn't something I do very often, so I may not be good at it. First of all, do you believe his explanation for why he lied to you?" he inquired gently. For not having any practice at it, House was a natural when he wanted to be.

Buffy's answer was quick and certain, "Sure. Both of them have always tried to shield me from bad news in the past."

Since he was doing okay so far, House continued, giving her a worst case scenario with his next question, "Second, do you want him out of your life for doing this?"

"What? Of course not!" She seemed genuinely distraught at the thought of losing Giles; so much so that House was starting to rethink the idea of helping to fix things.

But then he saw the tears in her eyes, and was helpless against them. All he wanted to do was banish them from her beautiful green eyes. Oh man, she was turning him into such a sap! Shaking off his despair of becoming whipped, House remarked, "Then he's obviously more important to you than the lie."

Her lower lip trembled in a sad little pout. "But he promised-" she protested.

"You don't really want somebody to be completely honest with you all the time…not really. Trust me, I tend to be more honest with people than they ever wanted. People like tact – and that often includes lying," he said with a smirk. This was something he was an expert in.

Buffy started imagining a world of Cordelias or Anyas and shuddered. "Yikes! You're right, I wouldn't want total and complete honesty. But I also don't appreciate being treated like a fragile little girl who needs protecting."

House wisely kept his mouth shut about her acting like a fragile little girl at the moment. Instead he said, "I'll keep that in mind. But you have to remember that you'll never be able to convince your mother of that. No matter how grown up you may be, part of her will always see you as a little girl flitting around in some sort of fairy princess costume that I'm sure you must have worn at one point or another," he added in a snarky fashion.

The blush on Buffy's cheeks told him he was right. To distract him, she asked, "What about Giles?"

"I can't say for certain, but in our first meeting, it was quite clear that he was terrified of upsetting you – especially while you're pregnant," he pointed out. "Maybe he hoped that anger was a better option to deal with."

"Yeah, I guess you're right; tears freak him out more than- just about anything," Buffy conceded. Now that this 'crisis' was over with, she turned to him and smiled brightly at him. "You know, you aren't too bad at this comforting thing after all."

House breathed a silent sigh of relief that had been resolved without actual tears being shed. "Good. Now that you're calmed down, maybe we should call them and let them know you're okay?" he suggested, grabbing the phone from the end table next to him.

**

* * *

**

Couple months later…

It took awhile to convince him, but after witnessing Buffy's almost pathological aversion to hospitals, House finally believed her excuse about why she was scared to have a daughter. Despite the fact it made no _logical_ sense, it still made sense to him. After watching her _female_ cousin die while she was very young, the notion that part of her pysche equated girl with medical weakness…well, House understood that phobias were rarely based in reason.

Buffy's dislike of hospitals was real enough; that much he was sure of. Whenever she had plans with him or Cameron, she tried to meet them away from the hospital as often as she could. The irony was, she also tried to make sure that nobody knew about her fear of hospitals. She just didn't want to show her own weakness.

All he could do was reassure her that their daughter was healthy after the prenatal visits. That's all she cared about anyway.

**

* * *

**

Summers/Giles home

After many calls to confirm schedules, Buffy's baby shower was finally arranged. The Scoobies didn't have school the week after Thanksgiving, so that decided things. Unfortunately, that meant only three of the other dad candidates were able to attend – much to House's private delight.

The semi-snarky doctor and Buffy were growing closer as friends, and she spent as many nights at his apartment as she did her own home. She claimed it was only because they were getting to know each other better, but Joyce and Giles weren't so sure.

But they weren't really ones to cast stones…seeing as how it was those same evenings Buffy spent away from home that allowed them to grow closer as well. While Giles hadn't really thought of himself as Buffy's father-figure before – despite Travers' assertion years before – he found he didn't mind assuming the role now. However, it was only secondary to the role he truly was concerned with: that of Joyce's love interest.

"So…when are you gonna make an honest woman out of my mom?" Buffy demanded out of the blue one afternoon. Yeah, a few months ago, she was 'eww'-ing the idea of them together, but now it felt kinda right to her. She still didn't want any repeats of the band candy deal, though.

Giles stared at his Slayer in astonishment. After a couple seconds, he managed to sputter, "What?"

"You heard me, Watcher-mine. I've noticed the air around you two practically crackles with sexual tension," she teased. "Believe me, it's not pleasant for me to witness for my mom and best friend. Either take a cold shower or do something about it."

Several minutes later, Joyce walked into the room and saw Giles staring down the hallway at her daughter's bedroom. "What's wrong, Rupert?"

His reply was to sweep her into his arms and kiss her until she forgot her name.

From her bedroom door, Buffy rolled her eyes and quickly shut the door and put on her headphones, cranking the volume to drown out any other sounds. Just because she encouraged them, it didn't mean she wanted to see or hear any evidence of their smoochies.

* * *

A/N: Next…The baby shower…for sure now.


	7. Chapter 7: Baby Gifts

**Chapter 7: Baby Gifts**

A/N: I know Andy's death was 6 ½ months after _'The Wedding From Hell'_ but I already tweaked the timeline to put _'TWFH'_ in June, so hope you don't mind my futzing with it again.

Challenge: #3064 'conception by conspiracy *non-stargate*' by shelli.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AshDawnSoulmates and AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**

* * *

**

Summers/Giles home

**The Monday after Thanksgiving…**

Just days before the baby shower was going to take place, Giles got a call from Wes. Apparently there was a dream or prophecy or something that he needed to talk to Giles about. Rather than have Giles leave Buffy, Wes decided to tag along with the Scoobies to the shower.

"Makes me a little nervous to see you two huddled over dusty books again," Buffy teased, only semi-serious in her concern. Remembering that it had been a couple weeks since she talked to the new Slayer, she asked, "How's Chloe doing?"

Wes set the book he was reading aside for the moment to answer, "Better now. Her best friends were finally let in on her secret – as well as her father," he added as almost an afterthought.

"How did they take it?" Giles inquired, remembering the difficulties he had with Buffy's friends and mother. He desperately hoped Chloe's father accepted it better than Joyce.

"Pretty much like Chloe did, although her father is worried about her safety," Wes said, thinking it was rather expected for a parent to have that reaction. Or at least a caring parent; _his_ father would just talk about what an honor it was for his child to be Chosen. Shaking off the bad memories, he smirked at the memory of giving 'the speech' to the small group. "It's rather hard to shock people from Smallville. The only concern her friend, Clark, had was the idea she had to _kill_ her enemies. Apparently, they try to rehabilitate the meteor-infected people that cause problems in Smallville."

Giles got the ridiculous image of rehabilitating demons in his head. Then he shuddered, remembering that the Initiative already attempted that foolish notion – at a terrible cost to themselves and the citizens of Sunnydale. "Does that work?"

"Not often, unfortunately," Wes conceded regretfully. It was really too bad that the meteors seemed to create psychopaths; humans with those extra abilities could prove quite helpful against demons. "Usually the people break out of jail or the mental hospitals they were put in, and vow revenge. However, since they are human beings, there isn't much anyone can do," he reminded the 'retired' Watcher/Slayer team, knowing they'd want to fix the situation somehow.

Pulling herself out of her own memories of the Initiative, Buffy bit her lower lip in concern. "You explained that it's different with demons? Even the vampires?" She wondered if maybe she should go and talk to this Clark guy on Chloe's behalf. Maybe he'd accept the voice of experience if he didn't believe Chloe.

Wes nodded, "Of course. When they fully accept it as the truth… Well, that's another matter entirely. Chloe has accepted it, though," he told them. His Slayer's opinion on the topic was the only one worth worrying about. "At least they aren't interfering or trying to stop her."

"I just hope they don't make her feel guilty for not trying to save the demons or vamps," Buffy commented with a frown. It really wouldn't help the younger girl's will to fight if she felt guilty about the part of the job she shouldn't feel bad about. Losing people, sure…but not killing the baddies.

"She wouldn't let them if they tried; she's quite strong-willed," Wes answered proudly. Then he smirked at Buffy and teased – a first for him, "Perhaps even more than you."

Buffy found she liked this new, mocking Wes. Between losing the Council's stick up his ass and shedding the brooding atmosphere around Angel, the 'junior' Watcher had really turned into a decent guy. Chloe had a good one – something Buffy was very happy for. "Really? Good for her! Well, the books are calling me. If you need help when I'm done studying, I'll do what I can," she offered over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

"We've got it covered," Giles called after her. "You just concentrate on your schoolwork and your friends. They'll only be here for a few days."

**

* * *

**

Tuesday night…

It was time for the baby shower…at long last. They would have preferred to do it over the weekend, but since it was a holiday, they couldn't. Detectives Munch, Eames and Goren managed to sneak away from their duties because they worked cases over the weekend. Leo, and his friend, Andy Trudeau, were able to come because they were only an orb away from Leo's duties.

The reason Andy didn't have to worry about his cop duties anymore was because he was dead…technically speaking. When he saved the sisters from Tempus, the time-shifting demon, Andy was given the opportunity to become a whitelighter.

Because his charge was so unique, he would only have one – although Leo could call him in an emergency that didn't involve the Charmed Ones. That was the Elders' only stipulation, and he reluctantly agreed to it. At least they'd have Leo looking out for them, and he promised to keep Andy up to speed on them and Darryl.

As for who his charge was, the Elders used the foreknowledge they got from Buffy's visit to Leo the prior spring to intercede on the child's behalf. Because they claimed the baby as a future whitelighter, she couldn't be a Slayer, or even a Potential Slayer. Or in the case of a boy- well, it was just a precaution to keep the baby out of the hands of the PTB. They'd worry about the child actually becoming a whitelighter after his/her death – which they hoped would be decades away.

When they explained it to the former Slayer, she crossed her arms over her swollen belly and asked with an inscrutable expression on her face, "So you're telling me that you _claimed_ my unborn baby?"

Suddenly regretting his choice of words, Leo stepped back, nodding as he did so, "Umm, yeah?"

He wasn't prepared for Buffy rushing/waddling over and hugging him tightly. "Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she gushed, kissing him on the cheek, then turning to do the same to Andy.

"You're welcome," Leo murmured, a bit flustered by her reaction.

Andy smiled down at the perky blonde in his arms. "I take it this means you aren't mad about the Elders doing it?"

"Are you kidding?" she asked incredulously, turning to beam at Giles. "My daughter won't have to be a Slayer! Or even have to worry about being a Potential!"

Giles took over the explanation, guessing that the hormonal young lady might begin crying in relief soon – if the brightness in her eyes were any indication, "Worrying about what happens _after_ she dies – many, many, _many_ years in the future – is hardly a concern when you compare it to the very real threat of being the Slayer in _less_ than 20 years."

After she blinked away the tears in her eyes, Buffy requested of her new favorite people in the world, "Next time you see those Elder people, tell them they are okay in my book!"

* * *

Once they finished eating dinner, House looked around the room, then leaned over to complain to Buffy, "Don't you know anyone who isn't pretty?"

"She knows you," Wilson answered with a smirk.

"Besides, like you're one to talk. You work with two members from an aging boy-band," Xander quipped, pointing to Wilson and Chase.

Chase took offense; not to the boy-band part, but the aging part. "Hey!"

Foreman and Cameron started snickering at their colleague's distress. It was easy to picture him singing with Justin Timberlake or one of the Backstreet Boys. Oh, this would be prime prank material for months to come.

From the other side of the table, Munch raised an eyebrow and inquired wryly, "Should I be concerned you included me in that pretty remark, doctor?"

Smiling impishly at the older man, Buffy teased, "You have a seasoned, gruff sorta pretty, Munch."

Giles shook his head in despair, standing up to signal an official end to dinner. "Oh dear, I think we'd better get to the presents before this conversation disintegrates much farther," he suggested, moving to lead Joyce to the other room.

Perking up at the idea of presents – even those not being given to her – Anya chirped, "I agree! The sooner we finish, the sooner Xander and I can attempt to get our own child!" She lowered her voice to a stage-whisper and added to her boyfriend, "See, I was very subtle and didn't mention orgasms at all!"

Xander coughed a bit, then said, "Yup, good job Ahn. Umm, Buffster? I made this for Buffy, Junior," he said setting a medium-to-large box down in front of his best friend and House.

"Actually, we've kinda settled on Kendra Marie. Kendra, for- you know…Kendra. She was a friend of ours before she died a couple years ago," Buffy explained to the group who may not already know. "And Marie, for House's grandma."

She lifted off the cloth wrapping to find a beautiful, handcrafted hope chest. Her eyes welled up with tears as she ran her hand across the intricate woodwork, noticing the protection runes carved in it. When she opened the lid, there was an envelope inside.

"The bonds for when the baby is older. I was told they are a good, safe investment," Anya declared proudly.

"Thank you, guys," Buffy said through her choked vocal cords. She'd have to pace herself if she didn't want to be sobbing throughout the whole night.

Andy stepped forward next. "This was passed down in my family, and I'd like you to have it." Inside the box, she found a Christening gown. The other box which Leo handed her was from him and the sisters, and contained crystal 'decorations' with a note that said they promoted health and peace of mind.

Having learned a bit about the mystical realm, Joyce figured those were just new age claims. Still, she wanted to divert attention away from the mystical tonight – especially when so many people there didn't know the truth. "Those are very pretty and would make a lovely mobile, don't you think?"

"I found a wonderful baby pram," Cuddy remarked, handing Buffy a picture of the item, which was out in the mudroom so it wouldn't crowd the living room.

House felt he had to snark at her use of the word pram, "You know they call them _strollers_ here in the States."

Munch handed over a silver rattle, but whispered in Buffy's ear that it was actually bug-detector and scrambler. She shook her head at his paranoia, but thanked him anyway.

"My gift – aside from the toys – is to be your late night medical advisor, Buffy. That way you don't have to deal with House's bedside manner," Wilson offered, smirking at his best friend.

Pretending to be wounded, House sniffed, "Just for that, somebody else gets to be the baby's godfather."

Before they could get into a full snark-off, Wes spoke up, "This is from Chloe and myself."

Buffy opened the jewelry box to find an odd necklace that looked like a cross on one side, a heart with a stake through it inscribed on the back.

"You'll have to explain that to me later," House whispered in her ear. "My turn now. This is a CD of me playing lullaby songs on the piano."

"The ones she's been listening to the past few months? Thank you, Greg!" Buffy declared, leaning over to kiss him tenderly on the lips. Even in the womb, little Kendra loved the sound of her daddy playing on the piano.

Since the doctors seemed to be stuck in a state of shock, Goren stood up and handed her a bag with toddler's cop uniform, complete with a Kevlar vest. Rolling her eyes at his choice of presents, Eames said, "In case you want your daughter to look like a girl instead of a rookie, here's a frilly dress."

The doctors still hadn't blinked since seeing Buffy kiss House, so Giles gave her the next present. "This came from Jack and Allison. Well, technically from Allison and SARAH."

He handed her a keycard (visitor's pass to Eureka) and a baby's needs analyzer, pre-tested, from SARAH. "They're scientists and really smart ones at that," Buffy explained to the confused group. The doctors finally seemed to come out of their stupor.

Willow handed Buffy a basket of lotions and powers that she and her girlfriend formulated for the baby. "Well, mine and Tara's aren't so science-y, but they should help with the baby's needs too."

When she saw House taking samples from each of the containers, Buffy had to ask, "What are you doing, Greg?"

He finished marking them before he answered, "No offense to your friends, but since they aren't FDA-approved lotions and powers, I want to make sure there aren't any harmful ingredients in them. All-natural doesn't always mean harmless."

"That sounds more like the House we know. We got you these clothes, and promise to babysit…within reason," Foreman quickly tacked on, with a knowing glance at his boss. That whole sweet exchange between him and Buffy earlier was freaking him out. They had barely gotten used to the idea of House not being a _complete_ jackass anymore, but sweet?

House tried to look innocent, but failed miserably. Since that didn't work, he picked up one of the out-of-town gifts and opened it. He stared in confusion when he saw a gun cleaning kit that looked like it had been used, as well as a pile of new onesies and blankets.

Smiling down at the kit, Buffy explained without thinking, "Oh, that's from Speed. When I met him, his gun jammed and I had to tackle him before he was shot. It's just his way of saying that Horatio finally got through to him on the importance of gun maintenance."

"He put our child's life in jeopardy?" House growled.

Buffy put her hand on his arm. It was as if he planned to get up and fly down to Miami immediately to pound the guy into the floor. "No, he put his own life in jeopardy. If you're gonna get angry at anyone, it should be me for tackling him. I didn't even get a tiny scratch though, so…" she tried to reassure him.

"And I've already yelled at her for being impetuous," Giles added, figuring that it might make House feel better that she had no plans for repeating such an action.

Before they could get to any of the other presents, Buffy suddenly clutched her abdomen in pain. "Ahhh!" she screamed loudly. Her twisting insides caused her water to break, scaring everyone in the room – especially the doctors, who knew that the baby wasn't due for another six weeks. Six very important weeks.

House looked down and saw pink in the liquids under Buffy. "We need to get her to the hospital _now_!" he shouted to anyone and everyone. They all raced to clear a path to one of the SUVs. Goren offered to drive while House and Joyce sat in the back with Buffy. Giles was elected to give directions.

As he followed the others out of the house, Wes saw one of the caterers and recognized him, but couldn't remember from where.

* * *

A/N: Next…The baby's birth.


	8. Chapter 8: Never Gonna Be Alone

**Chapter 8: Never Gonna Be Alone**

A/N: Okay, I got the idea for this chapter from the youtube video for Nickelback's song, _'Never Gonna Be Alone'_. If you don't want to know where it's going, wait until after you read the chapter before watching the vid. When you do watch, make sure you have a tissue handy.

Challenge: #3064 'conception by conspiracy *non-stargate*' by shelli.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AshDawnSoulmates and AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Song sung by Nickelback.

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Princeton High School

**17 ½ years after Anne Marie's birth…**

Before she started her valedictorian speech, Anne Marie House looked through the audience for her family. She saw Grandpa Giles and Grandma Joyce cuddled up together and rolled her eyes mentally. After all these years, and they still acted like they were newlyweds. Next to them was Andy Trudeau, who was like a big brother to her.

On the other side of him was her dad and his wife, Allison. As much as she loved her dad, she had no clue how Allison put up with him as a husband all these years. Might have something to do with her two younger half-brothers though. James was just as snarky as their dad, while Greg Jr. was compassionate like his mother.

Finally, Anne met the hazel eyes of her mother. She saw her mouth the words, _'I love you, baby'_ and had to blink back the tears that sprang up. She touched the necklace at her throat as she cleared it and began, "Today might mark the end of our time in high school, but it does not mean we have to forget the past. As we look to the future, we should remember all the little moments that helped us get here, and that will continue to help us as we face new challenges…"

_Time is going by  
So much faster than I  
And I'm starting to regret not spending all of it with you._

**Restaurant parking lot**

**15 years after Anne Marie's birth…**

While they were walking to Grandpa Giles' car, a man suddenly stepped in their way. When Anne got a better look at his face, she saw something straight out of one of her Grandpa's journals. It wasn't until now that she finally believed everything he ever told her about vampires and demons. Except, that was the only explanation for his eyes and forehead.

She watched as her grandpa moved forward to stake the vampire. At the same time, her mom stood between the vampire and her and Grandma Joyce, who was holding a bottle with a cross on it. _**'It must be holy water,'**_ she thought to herself. Anne realized that she'd have to go back and re-read all those journals again, this time with less skepticism.

As impressed as she was with Grandpa Giles' skill in fighting, she couldn't help but think that her mom looked like an avenging angel shielding the innocents from the forces of darkness. Whoever or whatever tried to get past her would have one hell of a fight on their hands.

_Now I'm  
Wondering why  
I've kept this bottled inside  
So I'm starting to regret not telling all of this to you._

**House home**

**14 ½ years after Anne Marie's birth…**

Butterflies in her stomach was too mild of a description for the nerves Anne was feeling as she prepared for her very first date. Not just a group hanging out thing, but just her and Michael Weaver going ice-skating.

She feared what her dad would do to the poor guy when he showed up to walk her to his parents' car – where his older sister was waiting to drive them to the rink. But she also knew that it wouldn't help to complain; he'd just say that if Michael couldn't handle a few friendly questions, he wasn't good enough for her. Made her wonder if he ever had to face somebody as scary as himself asking 'friendly' questions about their daughter.

From the corner of her eye, she caught some movement behind her in the mirror. When she looked up, she saw her mom smiling warmly at her. Just like that, all the butterflies settled. Anne knew that her mom knew what she was going through and would take care of her.

_So if I haven't yet  
I've gotta let you know_

_Never gonna be alone!  
From this moment on  
If you ever feel like letting go  
I won't let you fall  
Never gonna be alone!  
I'll hold you until the hurt is gone_

**House home**

**13 ½ years after Anne Marie's birth…**

Anne was curled up in bed, crying her eyes out.

Today was the most humiliating day of her entire life! She was never going back to school, and nothing her dad said would change her mind…ever! It wasn't as if _he_ had to deal with people pointing at her and laughing, calling her 'Carrie' because she got her first period, and it soaked through her white shorts. He was a guy, and couldn't understand what she was going through.

Then she felt the soft touch of her mom's hand brushing through her hair, whispering words of comfort until the crying ended. Then she was reminded that embarrassing things happened all the time, and it wouldn't be long for the next kid to get hit. Maybe this would help her show compassion when it did.

Like it was prophecy, the very next day, Jimmy Wendell split his pants during lunch when he bent over to pick up something that fell. While the other kids were busy laughing, Anne took off her sweatshirt and gave it to him to wrap around his waist.

_And now  
As long as I can  
I'm holding on with both hands  
'Cause forever I believe that there's nothing I could need but you  
So if I haven't yet  
I've gotta let you know_

**Giles' dojo**

**6 years after Anne Marie's birth…**

As she bounced nervously from one foot to the other, waiting for Grandpa Giles' class to start, Anne looked at the other kids lined up with her. It was obvious that she was the youngest one there, and she could see that they were wondering why such a little kid was allowed to take the class with them. To be honest, she was kind of wondering that herself.

Her mom caught her gaze and said with a look, _'You belong because you're my daughter. I know you'll do me proud.'_ The trust she felt helped to settle her nerves; she stopped bouncing and was able to correctly bow to her grandpa- no, _Sensei_ when the class began.

_Never gonna be alone!  
From this moment on  
If you ever feel like letting go  
I won't let you fall_

**House home**

**1 ½ years after Anne Marie's birth…**

Greg was trying desperately to get his baby girl to say her first word. While he was hoping for something truly impressive – like anesthesiologist – he'd settle for 'dada' or 'baba'.

He leaned back in the rocking chair with her, letting her sit so her back was against his stomach. For some reason he couldn't figure out, she liked to sit this way lately.

The reason was because this let Anne see her mom standing next to the crib. Anne reached out her pudgy baby hand and called, 'Mama' over and over again – much to the chagrin of her daddy.

_When all hope is gone  
I know that you can carry on  
We're gonna see the world out,  
I'll hold you until the hurt is gone_

**Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital**

**When Anne Marie was born…**

The doctors had just finished the emergency c-section to save the baby's life when Buffy's vitals plummeted. Even though they tried everything they could, they were unable to resuscitate the young woman. There was just no reason for a healthy young woman to die during childbirth…in a hospital no less.

Joyce asked softly, "Buffy said you decided to name her Kendra Marie? After a friend of hers and your grandmother?" Buffy mentioned it at the shower earlier, but Joyce just wanted to check.

Fighting the tears he felt coming on, Greg shook his head, "No. That was before this happened. She's going to be named after her mother. Her name is going to be Anne Marie," he declared, staring down at his baby girl, wondering how he could ever make up for her losing her mom before they even met.

The autopsy didn't help them find any answers either. Buffy Anne Summers simply went into premature labor, and when the placenta separated from her uterine wall, she bled to death – despite showing no signs of hemophilia in the past.

After they returned Buffy's personal effects to the grieving family, Giles took the necklace* he had given her in Miami when she said she didn't want to wear Angel's anymore and handed it to Greg, saying, "When she's old enough, Buffy would want her daughter to wear this." Greg just nodded dumbly, even though he usually scorned any kind of religious mumbo-jumbo.

_Oh!  
You gotta live every single day  
Like it's the only one  
What if tomorrow never comes  
Don't let it slip away  
Could be our only one  
You know it's only just begun_

**House home**

**1 ½ years after Buffy's death…**

As Anne called out for her mama, Buffy winked out, leaving only her photo on the wall above the crib behind for her baby to look at.

_Every single day  
May be our only one  
What if tomorrow never comes  
Tomorrow never comes_

**Giles' dojo**

**6 years after Buffy's death…**

Anne stared at the photo hanging where she just saw her mother silently encouraging her. It was of her and Grandpa Giles sparring in the training room at his house.

_Time is going by  
So much faster than I  
And I've started to regret not telling all of this to you_

**House home**

**13 ½ years after Buffy's death…**

Even though she knew the touch was only her imagination, Anne could still swear she heard the words whispered in the air.

_Never gonna be alone!  
From this moment on  
If you ever feel like letting go  
I won't let you fall_

**House home**

**14 ½ years after Buffy's death…**

It was times like this that Anne really missed being able to hold her mom. Not that she didn't love Allison, but it just wasn't the same thing.

_When all hope is gone  
I know that you can carry on  
We're gonna see the world out,  
I'll hold you until the hurt is gone_

**Restaurant parking lot**

**15 years after Buffy's death…**

Grandpa Giles' words about her mom being something called a Slayer…a protector of innocents…never seemed as true to her as they did now. Despite it only being a ghostly image of her standing there, Anne still believed her mom would protect her if others couldn't.

_I'm gonna be there always,  
I won't be missing one more day_

**Princeton High School**

**17 ½ years after Buffy's death…**

Anne touched the necklace at her throat, remembering the first time she convinced her dad to let her wear it. She could count on one hand the number of times it left her neck since that day. It reminded her that even though her mom was dead, she never truly left her baby girl.

_I'm gonna be there always,  
I won't be missing one more day_

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A/N: *The necklace I'm talking about is the Sterling Silver and Black Hills Gold Antiqued Cross Necklace at Overstock.

A/N2: Next…Epilogue.


	9. Epilogue: What Happened

**Epilogue: What Happened**

A/N: Okay, so you probably hate me now. I'm sorry that I didn't give House and Buffy a happily ever after. This is just a quick chapter to explain why Buffy died.

Challenge: #3064 'conception by conspiracy *non-stargate*' by shelli.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AshDawnSoulmates and AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. House, MD characters belong to David Shore and Fox. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

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In the future (maybe shortly after Anne's first brush with the supernatural)…

As he folded the quilt Buffy never finished making for her daughter (Joyce had to after Buffy's death), Andy asked the aging – but still not old – Watcher, "Are you ready to tell Anne the truth about her birth? You know she's been asking again."

Giles sighed. It was a day that he knew would come, but never wanted to face. "Do you think she's old enough?" he inquired semi-rhetorically; he would never feel Anne was old enough for this.

Understanding the man's pain, Andy remarked, "Is anyone ever old enough to learn somebody deliberately tried to kill them, but got their mother instead? I just would have liked to have been able to save Buffy. What's the point of having healing powers if you can't use them?" he ranted, just like every other time he thought about Buffy's senseless death all those years ago.

"Perhaps we should word it differently," Giles suggested wryly. "Maybe something about how her mother and the Slayer essence inside her sacrificed themselves to keep the mystical poison away from Anne."

"Now, are the Elders _certain_ Anne won't be Called? The important thing was that Anne was saved; at least the important thing to Buffy," he reminded his granddaughter's whitelighter.

Andy smiled indulgently, sympathetic to the concern that prompted the oft-posed question. "She's not even a Potential…just like the _first_ thousand times you asked me that."

"I'm sorry. It's just, after Buffy…" Giles trailed off.

"I understand. Buffy wouldn't be happy if her daughter had to go through the same things she did. Thousands of years ago, it _might_ have passed through family lines – for those Slayers old enough to have children of their own. But since the population has grown enough, it doesn't happen that way anymore," Andy posed logically. Actually, since it was mystical, there wasn't any real rhyme or reason to how the Powers picked their Champions.

"Unfortunately, that didn't stop Anne from learning about the supernatural," Giles commented, remembering the first time Anne faced a vampire. "But at least she hasn't had as dangerous of a childhood as her mother."

Andy was worried that Giles didn't understand those days were soon to be behind the young lady. "You know that I can't say the same thing for her adulthood, right? Have you decided what you'll tell Anne?"

"I know she deserves to know, but it still seems surreal to me – even after all these years. For Buffy to have survived so many demonic dangers, and been given early retirement by the Powers, only to fall at the hands of humans who should have been allies," Giles growled in angry betrayal.

The lines in his face and the gray in his hair did nothing to diminish the menace that poured off the man who was once referred to as Ripper. Only the fact that Buffy's killers were human saved their lives. His Slayer wouldn't want Giles to become a murderer to avenge her; something Joyce used as often as she had to in order to stop him from going after the men responsible.

"At least you can reassure Anne that those men can't hurt her anymore." Andy's expression turned thoughtful, then he asked, "Speaking of which, have any of them survived this long in the Pylean dimension?"

"Not a single one," Giles replied with grim satisfaction. "Travers and Wesley's father, Roger Wyndam-Pryce, were killed within a month of us banishing them there. Collins and Hampton managed to last just over a year. No big surprise, but the pillock who actually poisoned Buffy at the baby shower survived the longest. He was killed in a civil war about five years ago."

"And there's no hints that anyone knows about your and Wes' involvement in their disappearance? Nobody will come after you or Anne?" Andy needed to know that his charge wasn't in danger from non-supernatural threats. The darklighters were bad enough to deal with; he didn't want to worry about humans too.

"As far as anyone at the Council is concerned, they died in a tragic automobile accident." The former Watcher shrugged his shoulders as he continued, "There may be speculations of something more, but since they were declared rogue after Buffy's Cruciamentum, nobody who really matters cares. That they died so soon after Buffy's death is just considered an odd coincidence. It worked in our favor that they were fairly universally despised by everyone, both personally and professionally."

He stood up and moved to the door, "Well, I guess it's about that time, wouldn't you say, Andy?" Giles prayed that he would find the words that told the story without making Anne feel responsible for her mother's death.

* * *

A/N: And that concludes this portion of the Daddy series. Bet you're all shocked that House never learned Buffy's secret, aren't you?


End file.
